Raw bones for dogs

AryaStark

I am wondering what people in here think about giving raw bones to dogs. I went to the butcher yesterday and got some bones for the dogs. The butcher told me to make sure to boil them... I didn't agree as I have always fed raw. The butcher was not going to give me the bones unless I agreed to boil them as he said it can cause aggression and that they are not good for the teeth.

I am pretty sure that I am right and that cooked bones cause more problems as they can splinter... I have looked on here and found some old posts but nothing recent.

Am I right that you should give them raw? I was with the dogs while they had the bones and took them away after about an hour (As I was outside supervising and wanted to go in!!!).

Ive attached pics of them enjoying their treat. The husky has had them a lot but it was my pups first time and he loved it!

muddypaws

Definitely don't cook them. That whole raw meat and bones causes aggression is so old fashioned and outdated.

volchitsa

I sometimes give raw bones (left in the freezer for a week or so first, supposedly kills any parasites etc, not sure where I heard that now, but it's easy enough to do anyway) and originally she actually did show a bit of guarding behaviour with them, but now she's got a bit more used to them, and I suppose to other treats as well, she's fine I think.

Though TBH I wouldn't take a fresh one straight back off her - so maybe I'm just avoiding the situation and we would need to work on that?

(We can take her food bowl away (kibble) and she's grand, just goes back in her crate to wait for the extra treats she expects to find in the bowl when it comes back!)

But definitely no general increase in aggression once the bones have been well chewed and just left lying around the garden! I think it's just that they were so delicious compared to anything else that initially she was just afraid of losing them.

colmufc

It's the splinters you should be worries about not the supposed aggression

em_cat

I only give non weight bearing ones & have to remove the marrow, I pop in a wet mixture of pressure cooked pork & potato.

volchitsa

(Meant to say, the pup is having such a fantastic time with that bone, isn't he? )

AryaStark

I didn't think of freezing them to bill bacteria! I just wouldn't let them eat them in the house!!!

I did a lot of work with the Husky and she knows that she doesn't get to keep the bone! She has a favourite toy that I am able to switch with her (I then put the toy away whenever she leaves it)... She doesn't resource guard at all but has favourite toys that she just loves...these I don't let the pup play with.

He is now reaching a year and this was his first bone... he was very good and I was able to handle it and take it and give it back a lot. I then just took it when it was time and he didn't mind.
He needs work as he doesn't have a 'leave it' command yet and likes to use his strength and body against me if I have to take anything so will have to be careful with bones etc

AryaStark

colmufc wrote: »

It's the splinters you should be worries about not the supposed aggression

Is that from raw bones or only from cooked?

AryaStark

He can't believe it!

saccades

Freezing doesn't kill bacteria, just puts them to "sleep".

colmufc

AryaStark wrote: »

Is that from raw bones or only from cooked?

Can be either ,raw are more sharp and cooked are just slightly softer so less chance of a big crack but I never give bones to dogs

AryaStark

colmufc wrote: »

Can be either ,raw are more sharp and cooked are just slightly softer so less chance of a big crack but I never give bones to dogs

See I've been giving them to my dogs for years... this was just the first time in a long time that I heard about cooking them and I wanted to see what people thought and what the most up to date opinion I could get.

I would hate to have to stop giving them as my girl loves them so much.. she has pancreatitis and her feeding is very limited and she does'nt get any dog treat and very little human food.

Her excitement when she gets a bone makes me happy!

muddypaws

Resource guarding around bones has nothing to do with aggression because they've tasted blood which is what the butcher is basically saying. It's guarding a highly prized resource. Cook a steak and see if the dog resource guards it, if he/she guards bones, I bet they'll do the same with the cooked meat. Bones last longer than a piece of meat, so the dog has more opportunity to guard.

cocker5

Many many people in Ireland feed RAW this includes RAW bones (myself included) .. no issues with aggression or bacteria.. and long term they are far healthier for it

Never feed cooked bones

boomerang

Has to be non-weight bearing so beef shin bones are a big no-no for example. You still run the risk of them cracking a tooth though.

AryaStark

boomerang wrote: »

Has to be non-weight bearing so beef shin bones are a big no-no for example. You still run the risk of them cracking a tooth though.

With bones I usually go for beaf ribcage ...

I used to give my girl chicken necks and other bits but that was before she was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. Now she just gets the ribs and I trim off most of the fat for her!

Graces7

My dog ( and cats) get raw chicken every day, bones and all, and never an issue. The only time there has been a problem was way back with this dag with smaller lamb bones; we reckoned it was because they were soft.

I keep the smaller bones ie wings for the cats and never a problem,

All of them have splendid teeth and are into their teens

AryaStark

Graces7 wrote: »

My dog ( and cats) get raw chicken every day, bones and all, and never an issue. The only time there has been a problem was way back with this dag with smaller lamb bones; we reckoned it was because they were soft.

I keep the smaller bones ie wings for the cats and never a problem,

All of them have splendid teeth and are into their teens

Yes I give them raw frozen chicken wings to clean the teeth and because I was told it helps to empty the anal glands!!! They do love them ... I worry a bit about the fat for my husky so when I can find skinless chicken drumsticks I use them instead.

em_cat

AryaStark wrote: »

With bones I usually go for beaf ribcage ...

I used to give my girl chicken necks and other bits but that was before she was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. Now she just gets the ribs and I trim off most of the fat for her!

That’s why I scoop out the marrow and also have to remove the fat.

muddypaws

AryaStark wrote: »

Graces7 wrote: »

My dog ( and cats) get raw chicken every day, bones and all, and never an issue. The only time there has been a problem was way back with this dag with smaller lamb bones; we reckoned it was because they were soft.

I keep the smaller bones ie wings for the cats and never a problem,

All of them have splendid teeth and are into their teens

Yes I give them raw frozen chicken wings to clean the teeth and because I was told it helps to empty the anal glands!!! They do love them ... I worry a bit about the fat for my husky so when I can find skinless chicken drumsticks I use them instead.

Don't worry about fat and a husky, they need more fat in their diet than most other dogs, think about what their ancestral diet would have been - lots of blubber.

AryaStark

muddypaws wrote: »

Don't worry about fat and a husky, they need more fat in their diet than most other dogs, think about what their ancestral diet would have been - lots of blubber.

I used to do that until she got pancreatitis ... she was so bad and has had 3 episodes where she has ended up in the vet on a drip. Scares me to feed her anything other then her food now.

She used to get an amazing range of food and now looks at me like I am mad when I refuse her treats!
(Ive always felt guilty that I gave her the pancreatitis from giving her high fat human grade foods).

Edited to say that she never got dog treats or anything like that .. it was human grade food and raw meat etc!!!

tk123

Bailey has panc... as well as the piece of jaw missing and now a piece of tooth missing! So he only gets softer bones now like chicken carcass/neck, turkey wing tips/neck and then low fat meats like lamb tripe/chicken/turkey and some slightly higher ones once or twice a week like venison and pork. Treat wise they pretty much get the same things although there's some he just won't eat like cows ears or scalp that are too hard for him. He gets a good portion of veg with his meals and digestive enzymes and all good.

AryaStark

tk123 wrote: »

Bailey has panc... as well as the piece of jaw missing and now a piece of tooth missing! So he only gets softer bones now like chicken carcass/neck, turkey wing tips/neck and then low fat meats like lamb tripe/chicken/turkey and some slightly higher ones once or twice a week like venison and pork. Treat wise they pretty much get the same things although there's some he just won't eat like cows ears or scalp that are too hard for him. He gets a good portion of veg with his meals and digestive enzymes and all good.

I am so paranoid about my dogs getting sick .. the vet is very patient with me as if Nymeria even has a dry nose for two days I'll call!!!
My last dog died suddenly when she was only 4 and a half... she wet herself in the house and that worried me and three days later she died. She had hodkins disease and I never even knew that she was sick.. she was a collie/lurcher mix and always so active and happy!
So when Nymeria came to me I was always worried... she then got Pyometra and was so sick until she got nurtured. When she got sick again and it was pancreatitis that was it...
I probably could give her more but am so afraid of her getting sick again! But I do love to give her bones etc as she really loves them!

muddypaws

AryaStark wrote: »

muddypaws wrote: »

Don't worry about fat and a husky, they need more fat in their diet than most other dogs, think about what their ancestral diet would have been - lots of blubber.

I used to do that until she got pancreatitis ... she was so bad and has had 3 episodes where she has ended up in the vet on a drip. Scares me to feed her anything other then her food now.

She used to get an amazing range of food and now looks at me like I am mad when I refuse her treats!
(Ive always felt guilty that I gave her the pancreatitis from giving her high fat human grade foods).

Edited to say that she never got dog treats or anything like that .. it was human grade food and raw meat etc!!!

Sorry, it was late - or early - I forgot about the pancreatitis

Immaculata

I used to give my dogs bones from the butcher's and never had any problems. I had no idea I was supposed to cook or freeze anything. I was told that chicken and lamb bones are likely to splinter so I never gave those kind of bones, just large beef ones. Anyway, I was at the vet's once and the vet told me that modern dogs aren't good at digesting bones and they can cause obstructions or there can be issues with splinters, so not to feed the dogs bones.

However, I'm weak when it comes to the dogs and decided in the end that I would continue giving the largest dog the odd bone, as he is an enormous and tough dog, and I've seen him crunch through and swallow half a rib cage as a human would crunch through a bag of crisps, no problem at all. I give him them in the back garden, while the other, much smaller, dogs have snacks in the house, so as to avoid any favouritism. So far, so good, and maybe I wouldn't continue this when the largest dog is in old age, but now in his prime, I think it's okay, as an occasional treat.

AryaStark

My two are big and one is 5 and the other is 1 this month! I am happy enough now to continue to give them bones - Ive read a lot about it over the last two weeks and am confident that they should be ok.

I will continue to monitor them when they have them and maybe change when they get old! Nymeria the eldest has good teeth and the vet is quite happy with them and her!